It doesn’t take a genius to figure out SIUC senior designated hitter Brad Benson is enjoying himself.

After a four-game sweep of Creighton University this weekend, the whole team can forget their 5-12 start this spring.

I said a couple of times before that we just need to get some confidence, and we’ll get going, Benson said. There’s no better way to get confidence than to go out and sweep your first series.

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I think for a lot of guys here, this was their first time in the MVC. We’ve got some guys who have been here before, but you get a little momentum and you never know what we might do.

The Salukis are coming off a four-game sweep of the Creighton Bluejays last weekend at 4-0 in Missouri Valley Conference play and are 9-12 overall. The Salukis tied for first place in the conference with Indiana State University and the University of Evansville.

With the strong competition in the Valley, the Salukis need to take advantage of the middle teams in the conference.

Sophomore infielder Steve Ruggeri said the games were not crucial games, but the Salukis needed to take advantage of win.

We need to try to win a lot of these games against moderate competition because when we’ve got Wichita State, Illinois State and Southwest, they’re going to be tough, Ruggeri said. We need to get as many wins out of this series because we go to Wichita State next weekend. We’ll try to get as many wins as we can.

The road ahead does not get any easier for the Salukis. The Salukis will be taking on the 9-9 University of Illinois Fighting Illini Wednesday afternoon. The Illini played a Tuesday afternoon game at Indiana State before coming to Carbondale.

Benson said it is always nice to play the Illini because the atmosphere at Abe Martin Field is always fun when former Saluki coach Itchy Jones and the Illini come to town.

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Anytime you get to play Illinois, you’re looking forward to it, Benson said. You’ve got Itchy coming back, so you know this place will be packed. I think it will be a fun game. The weather is going to be good, so hopefully we’ll have a chance to go at it.

Callahan said he expects to see another good game between the Salukis and the Illini. Last year, the Salukis were rained out in Carbondale and won 15-13 in Champaign.

Generally, the games are pretty good, Callahan said. There are some people who come out who at one time were very loyal to Itch. One thing I noticed the last time they were here, it is hard for him to even get a chance to do what he is paid to do and that is coach. It looks like a three-ring circus over there in the Illinois dugout.

He’s got a group of people down here yelling at him, and he finishes with that group and he goes to the other end of the dugout and talks to that group. And then there is another group ready to meet him again. This is going on during the game.

Callahan said is still unsure who will get the start on the mound for the Salukis, but he expects to use several pitchers to prepare them for the weekend series at the University of Northern Iowa.

The Salukis improved their defense last weekend, and Callahan hopes the team has solved some of the problems they had during the spring trip. SIUC only had three errors in four games over the weekend, compared to the 16 errors they committed in Texas during the spring trip.

We were in Texas, and we had a chance to come home 5-1 and we didn’t, Callahan said. You can throw all of the excuses in the book out at the average fan, but if they saw us play, they’d say, Those excuses are not valid. They won’t fly, and that’s not why you lost.’

We lost in Texas because we didn’t play well. I know we as a coaching staff got a little tired of it, and I think our players got tired of it.

The Salukis also continue to have solid pitching, led by Saluki sophomore reliever Jim Pecoraro, who was named the MVC Pitcher of the Week Tuesday. The righthander fanned 13 batters in the four-game series and walked none. He came away with a hold, a save and a win and is tied for the conference lead with three saves.

Ruggeri believes that with the four wins, the Salukis are now in the driver’s seat in the conference and have the confidence to come away with some wins in the Northern Iowa series. But for the time being, the Herrin native is concentrating on the Illini.

Itchy’s from my hometown, and that was one of my choices besides here, Ruggeri said. I’m looking forward to it. I know a couple of guys on the team, so it should be exciting. We’ll probably get some guys some work on the mound, and hopefully we’ll come out with a win.

We’re 4-0 in the conference now and pretty much in the driver’s seat. If we can play like this weekend, we may be 8-0.

SIUC battles former Saluki coach Itchy Jones and his University of Illinois club at 2 p.m. today at Abe Martin Field.